Originally Posted by
luvTooQuilt
So is that only a problem with Panto's - as they wont be straight?( IM not a LA.. I want one, hence the picking of brains from experience LA's . )
If they float and are all over freehand meandering does it still create havoc? again just wondering..
Out of square will be an issue with any long armed quilt, although some designs will be more of an issue than others. In addition to the great info Feline Fanatic provided, quilters will also take measurements side to side as the quilt it advanced, like along a line of sashing or an obvious seam where blocks meet. You can scoot the quilt a bit, but it gets more difficult as you go. Usually it's not just the border that's out of whack, it's the whole quilt. Some issues can be addressed with custom quilting, but many folks don't want to pay for that. That's why it's important for the LA quilter to look over the top, with the piecer, when it's dropped off. They can note any issues with the top before accepting and provide a realistic expectation of the results. When I got my long arm, I worked with a couple other quilters in the area to see if I wanted to quilt for hire. Issues like this were one of the reasons I decided to only quilt for family and friends. I can tell them to go fix it!